'They just started attacking': Mayor Mamdani slams 'unacceptable' NYPD violence as 2 detectives lose badges for mercilessly beating black man | VIDEO
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'They just started attacking': Mayor Mamdani slams 'unacceptable' NYPD violence as 2 detectives lose badges for mercilessly beating black man | VIDEO")
Two white NYPD detectives stripped of badges after video shows them mercilessly beating black suspect in Brooklyn liquor store Photograph: (Screenshot/Video/X)
Why were two NYPD detectives stripped of their badges after this arrest? New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the video “extremely disturbing” after officers were seen repeatedly punching an innocent man they mistook for a suspect.
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Two New York City plainclothes detectives have been stripped of their guns and badges after a seven-minute video captured them repeatedly punching a man inside a Brooklyn liquor store. They had mistaken the man, identified as Timothy L. Brown, a home health aide and security guard, for a drug dealer. However, he later turned out to have no involvement in any crime. Reacting to the disturbing video, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that the violence used by the NYPD officers was "extremely disturbing and unacceptable". Writing on social media, he noted that "officers should never treat a person this way." Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the footage as "extremely disturbing" and confirmed an Internal Affairs Bureau investigation was underway.
What happened in New York?
The shocking incident happened Tuesday (Apr 14) afternoon at BK Wine Depot on Hoyt Street in Boerum Hill. The two Brooklyn North narcotics detectives believed the man matched the description of a suspect seen making a drug sale nearby: a white T-shirt, shorts, and light green shorts. They followed him into the store and attempted to arrest him, but he refused to be handcuffed.
What followed was captured on a cellphone by a witness named Abelee Moran, who posted the footage online. The video shows the detectives struggling with the man near the back of the store, punching him repeatedly, pushing his head into a refrigerator door, and then tumbling with him into a display of wine bottles that shattered across the floor. One officer is seen grabbing the man by the foot and dragging him across the broken glass. Another appears to stand on the back of his knee to immobilise him. The man can also be seen bleeding heavily from a leg wound caused by the broken glass.
Watch the disturbing video here. Viewer discretion advised
They got the wrong guy.
Later, it was found that the man was not carrying any drugs, and he was not the person that the NYPD was looking for. The NYPD later confirmed that the man had no involvement in drug sales.
A store worker said he was a regular customer. A friend said he lives across the street in the Gowanus Houses and works as a security guard. "He came home, showered, changed his clothes, and went to enjoy himself," she said. "He had a day off the next day,y and this is what you do to him?"
The man needed several stitches for the leg wound. His friend said his nose was broken. "He can barely speak," she said.
Despite the violence, the man was given a desk appearance ticket for resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration. However, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office announced it would not be prosecuting either charge.
A case of police brutality?
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The detectives, one of whom identified himself in the video as Det. Michael Algerio, a 13-year NYPD veteran, was not wearing a body camera and did not have a radio. Neither had immediately identified themselves as police officers when they entered the store, according to witness Moran. "They just started attacking him," she said. "He was just trying to block the hits."
When a witness inside the store asked the second detective for his name, he replied: "My name is shut up! I'm trying to make a call right now because this guy is bleeding out!"
Police union officials pushed back on the public condemnation. Scott Munro, head of the Detectives Endowment Association, cautioned against judging the officers based solely on video. "Narcotics detectives arrest you and tell you to put your hands behind your back, and you don't comply, what do you think happens?" he said. PBA president Pat Hendry accused Mayor Mamdani of rushing to judgment.
Outside the liquor store on Wednesday, residents and activists gathered to protest. Hawk Newsome of Black Lives Matter Greater New York called for the detectives to be fired and criminally charged. "Imagine you're beating someone mercilessly and you're caught on camera, and you don't care," he said. “You have the bravado to keep going.”
